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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (8 April) . . Page.. 646 ..

MR WHITECROSS (continuing):

As one of the older Acts of this parliament, the LA(MS) Act does not have the same provisions for scrutiny of decisions by the Executive as many subsequent Acts of parliament have. All members in this place will be aware of the extensive use that is made in legislation of the provisions for disallowable instruments under the Subordinate Laws Act. As an early Act of this Assembly, this particular Act is one of the ones which up until now have escaped the provision for reconsideration of decisions by the Executive by the members of this place.

Mr Speaker, the purpose of my Bill today is to rectify that anomaly and to ensure that in future instruments made under the LA(MS) Act will be disallowable instruments and will, therefore, become subject to scrutiny and ultimately the agreement of members of the Legislative Assembly. I think this is an appropriate thing in principle. Arrangements relating to the employment of members' staff should be bipartisan matters; they should be matters on which members can negotiate and agree. It has been the practice in the past. Mr Kaine, Ms Follett, Mrs Carnell and my respective predecessors on a number of occasions negotiated and discussed arrangements about the conditions of employment of staff under the Legislative Assembly (Members' Staff) Act.

Mr Speaker, I am sure you will be aware that in recent times a number of proposals have come forward about changes to the arrangements for employing members' staff. Many of the initiatives which have been taken by the Government in relation to this have been taken without any prior consultation with members of the Assembly. Many of the agendas have not been made clear to members on this side of the house at least, and, I think, members on the crossbenches as well.

Mr Speaker, we believe it is appropriate that, whatever arrangements and determinations are made by the Government in relation to these matters, they be subject to scrutiny by this place. We do not believe it is appropriate that the Legislative Assembly members' staff conditions of employment should be the subject of arbitrary change by one party without a proper process of consultation. We do not believe, Mr Speaker, that the powers conferred on the Chief Minister under the Legislative Assembly (Members' Staff) Act should be used in an arbitrary way to pursue vendettas against individual members of this place.

Mr Speaker, I urge members to support this Bill, which brings the LA(MS) Act into line with other Acts of parliament passed by the Assembly and will ensure that actions of the Executive are able to be scrutinised by the Assembly. In that sense it is a fairly simple and uncontroversial proposal which I hope will get the unanimous support of the Assembly.

Debate (on motion by Mrs Carnell) adjourned.

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